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UFS and ARC establish research chairs to address climate change

12 July 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons

Research Chairs 2024 — Prof Paul Oberholster, Dean: NAS; Dr Glen Taylor, Senior Director for the Directorate Research Development (DRD); Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Internationalisation; and Prof Johan van Niekerk, Vice-Dean for Agriculture in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS); are excited for the new ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs.

In a concerted effort to address the challenges and impact of climate change in Southern Africa, the University of the Free State (UFS) together with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) established four new research chairs within the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS).

The ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs, namely Climate Change and Agriculture, Innovative Agro-processing for Climate-smart Food System, Agriculture Risk Financing and Sustainable Livestock Production, falls under the umbrella of climate change and are part of the established centre of excellence of the ARC and DALRRD on Climate Smart Agriculture.

They will form part of two centres of excellence that the university is also in the process of establishing. The framework for these Agriculture Research Centres of Excellence involves several key components aimed at fostering innovation, collaboration, and impactful research in agriculture. In this case it is Climate Smart Agriculture, enabling them to play a pivotal role in advancing agriculture, enhancing productivity, sustainability, and resilience in the face of global challenges related to climate change.

Prof Johan van Niekerk, Vice-Dean for Agriculture for NAS, and Prof Sonja Venter, from the ARC, are the coordinators for the ARC-UFS-consortium. Joel Mamabolo from the DALRRD is the department’s representative and DALRRD manager in the consortium.

The purpose of the research chairs, he explains, is to conduct high-level research with an aspect of community impact as envisaged in the university’s vision 130. This is the UFS and NAS’s first steps towards creating industry chairs with negotiations between the UFS and the ARC-DALRRD currently taking place for further expansion of the chairs.

Improve research and food security

“The UFS has a long-standing relationship with the ARC and the parties came together to work together to improve research and food security in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The best way to do this, was by creating research chairs. The ARC saw the university’s expertise in agriculture which also contributed to the ARC establishing the chairs. Our expertise is of such a nature that it does not only influence the sector, but also makes a lasting difference,” says Prof Van Niekerk.

According to him, the ARC and the UFS will collectively manage the research chairs by appointing co-chair principal scientists for each of the chairs in order for the chairs to work together and share resources and expertise. The ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs will also work closely together within multidisciplinary research teams and complement each other and in doing so, create a value chain within the agriculture sector.

It will integrate various disciplines including agronomy, genetics, soil science, ecology, pathology economics, socioeconomics horticulture, animal sciences, food sciences and engineering to mention a few. This multidisciplinary approach will foster comprehensive research solutions and innovation at the intersection of different fields and will aim to contribute to sustainable food systems for the future.

The first two chairs; Climate Change and Agriculture, headed by Prof Linus Franke, Head of the UFS Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Sciences, and the Innovative Agro-processing for Climate-smart Food System, which will be under Dr Alba du Toit, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, officially started on 1 July 2024, while the remaining two chairs will begin operating in December. The ARC will soon confirm the co-leaders of the various chairs.

The Agriculture Risk Financing research chair will be shared between the Department of Agricultural Economics, within NAS, and the UFS Business School. The Sustainable Livestock Production chair will fall within Prof Frikkie Neser’s Department of Animal Science. To add more credibility, experience and expertise to the ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs, Prof Maryke Labuschagne, who is leading the NRF SARChI Chair in Diseases and Quality of Field Crops, has been appointed as mentor.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Internationalisation, says: “These chairs mark an exciting opportunity to deepen our understanding of climate change aligned to our expertise in agriculture. The chairs offer us the opportunity to honour and support the leaders who will contribute in powerful ways to the vibrant intellectual life of the faculty, as well as the university, the ARC and DALRRD.

“The chairs also honour the donor whose financial support makes this form of recognition possible. At the UFS we are committed to engaging in global challenges but with a deliberate local focus, energy and drive. I am especially excited that these chairs demonstrate a commitment to the UFS focus on partnerships with industry, communities, the state and other academic and research institutions both nationally and around the world.”

Grateful for the ARC relationship

Through these chairs more collaborators and partners from other universities in the country and globally will be included in the partnership with the aim to bring together internationally renowned scientific experts that will collectively focus to address global challenges and enhance the development of more scientific capacity for the country.

The university, Prof Van Niekerk continues, is grateful for the cooperation and relationship with the ARC and its President and CEO, Dr Litha Magingxa and the executive management team, as well as the DALRRD DG, Mooketsa Ramasodi and the DDG for Agricultural Production, Biosecurity and Natural Resources Management, Dipepeneneng Serage for creating an environment within which the Universities and ARC can collectively contribute towards developing solutions with the DALRRD for key agricultural challenges of the country.

He expressed his gratitude to the Directorate Research Development (DRD) under the leadership of Dr Glen Taylor, for not only their support, but for bringing the parties together and negotiating with the ARC on their behalf. In this regard he wishes to thank Dr Petronella Chaminuka from the ARC as the acting Executive Manager: Research support and coordination for her support, guidance and leadership during the process.

Prof Van Niekerk also thanked Profs Francis Petersen, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Reddy, and Paul Oberholster, Dean of the Faculty of NAS, for creating the environment and rendering immense support for this programme from the UFS.

News Archive

ANC is not a party of the people - Mbeki

2010-08-30

“The unions in this country do not understand the political economy of South Africa. They think that the ANC is the party of the people. The ANC is the party of the black middle class. The fact that the masses vote for it does not mean they control it. The policies of the ANC favour the black middle class and the established businesses. They do not favour the working class.”

This was said by renowned economic and political commentator Mr Moeletsi Mbeki, brother of former president Thabo Mbeki, during a guest lecture he recently presented to Economics students of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

“You just have to look at the types of houses that the ANC government builds for ordinary South Africans,” he said.

“If you had a party that was a pro-working class party it would not have built these so-called RDP houses that are being built by the ANC government. The unions have all along been under the illusion that the ANC is the government of the working class and (Zwelinzima) Vavi and them are now beginning to realise that this is not the case.

“The public-sector workers are in a special dilemma. They think the ANC is their ally but at the same time they feel they are not getting any benefits out of this alliance. Therefore you are beginning to get a very acrimonious environment emerging between the public-sector unions and the government.”

Regarding the current issue of the Protection of Information Bill and the proposed media tribunal that have brought the media and the government onto a collision course, Mbeki said the ANC government was trying to muzzle the media because it wanted to safeguard corruption within government.

“The question of freedom of information is very closely linked to the rise in corruption in the government,” he said.

“What the politicians are doing is that they are trying to hide that corruption. The media in this country have been playing a very critical role in exposing cases of corruption. That is why Vavi now has bodyguards.”

He said he recently met Vavi, the General Secretary of Cosatu, surrounded by four bodyguards. He said Vavi told him that he was getting death threats because he was opposing corruption in government.

Mbeki said the economic policies of South Africa were the “worst in the world” because they benefited people who were already rich and militated against the emergence of entrepreneurs.

“In fact, one of the serious downsides of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is that it takes people who should normally be entrepreneurs and who should be creating new companies and new jobs, out of that space and just makes them wealthy. BEE has been a disaster because it created this massive economic inequality; it created this class of idle rich who have tons of money but do nothing,” he added.

He said the under-investment in the economy was having dire consequences in terms of unemployment and poverty. He said this, coupled with the growth of consumption that Black Nationalism was driving, was actually driving down the ability of the economy to absorb labour.

“What really lies at the bottom of our economic problems in South Africa is that we have too much of a one-party dominance of our political system. We need more competition in our political system and until we realise the policies of the ANC are not going to change,” he said.

Mbeki’s guest lecture was on the topic: Architects of Poverty: Why African capitalism needs changing.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za
30 August 2010

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